Ellie Goulding

Synth-pop singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding exploded in her native England in 2010, the year she won a pair of prestigious prizes and her debut album topped the U.K. charts. That album, ‘Lights,’ also made waves overseas, and its title track hit No. 2 in the States. Born in 1986, she wrote her first song on guitar at the age of 9. Her interest in electronic music was developed while she was at college. ‘Halcyon Days,’ a repackaged edition of sophomore album ‘Halycon,’ featured the EDM-infused single ‘Burn.’ That track became her first-ever No. 1 hit in her home country. Fittingly for an artist who often sings about love, Goulding performed her hit cover of Elton John’s ‘Your Song’ at the April 2011 wedding reception of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.